Rice Lake, WI – Two retired Standardbred race horses were featured in the 2021 Aquafest parade in Rice Lake, Wisconsin on Sunday (June 13) to promote harness racing at both The Barron County Fair and Running Aces, and to spotlight the versatility of the breed, as well as promote cross training for careers after racing for retired racers.

Parade Twister parades in the Aquafest parade today at Running Aces. Kim Schneider photo. 

QKS Racing’s Quentin and Kimberly Schneider had their retired pacer “Twister”, who raced under the registered name of Secret Chord decked out in their stable colors and strutting his stuff in the jog cart with Quentin at the controls, while Kiley Conn had her retired pacer “Missy” (whose registered name is One Wright Left) decked out purple colors and participated in the parade under saddle with Kiley aboard.

Assisting with the Standardbred parade entry were Patty Strand, friends and neighbors Dave and Tammy Hofacker, and Running Aces harness driver James (“Jamie”) Jungquist, affectionately known as Mr. Purple Rain Racing. The presentation was well received by the thousands of parade fans that lined the parade route which began at the Barron County Fairgrounds and meandered into downtown Rice Lake.

The Standardbred horses stole the show and demonstrated their poise and grace throughout the event. Fans along the route were apprised of the opportunities to attend Live Harness Racing at both the Rice Lake Fair, which offers racing on July 14 and 15, and the summer-long Live Racing meet at Running Aces. The event was a big success by all accounts and all parties who participated are excited to return for the next edition next year, and were excitedly discussing ways to add more to the Standardbred/Harness Racing segment of the parade by adding a starting gate and audio announcements during the parade.

Standardbreds featured in the Aquafest parade in Wisconsin today. Schneider photo.

Patty Strand operates the Harness Racing program at The Barron County Fair, and also serves as the Executive Secretary of Minnesota Harness Racing, Inc. and has wanted to get Standardbreds back into the parade for a few years. Patty stated “The Aquafest parade used to have a lot of different types of horses included in it, and we used to participate to promote the racing at the fair, but it has been several years since we’ve been in it and I thought it was very important to do this to promote the harness racing.”

She added “I discussed it with Kimberly Schneider last year and she was immediately interested in helping to make it happen, and had the perfect horse to do so, Twister, and she also recruited Kiley, who works in her stable to join in the parade with her horse under saddle … it all worked out perfectly.” The horses were cheered on by the crowds and a lot of fun was had by all, and all parties are looking forward to next year’s event.